


Instructions Unclear, Accidentally Adopted A Cat

by Bam4Me



Series: Cub Rearing [1]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: 12 yo Obi, Alternate Universe - Animals, Animagus, Animal Transformation, Ferret Bruck, First of a series, Force Sensitives can turn into animals, Gen, He never fell to the darkside so hes a jedi and gonna take Bruck as his padawan soon, Jedi Xanatos, Lion Qui-Gon, Margay Obi-Wan, Raven Xanatos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 07:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16760254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: Qui-Gon had only meant to volunteer as a worker in the creche today, but this is an unforseen complication that he didn't plan for.





	Instructions Unclear, Accidentally Adopted A Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so now, I'm gonna admit I'm lazy and never googled how Midichlorians work, but I HAVE read Re-Entry like ten times and so let's steal from her for a second here: so that would mean that starting point to get into the creche would be a count of about 7000, and for the sake of this AU, anyone with a force sensitivity above about 2000 will have an animal form.
> 
> Also, the animals: the animals that they turn into aren't actually present in nature there. So like they got gundarks and fuckin tookas and shit like that, but cats are ONLY force sensitives, and so anything that ACTUALLY exists in our world is 100% guaranteed to be a force sensitive. So all the children in the creche are all animals in our world.
> 
> padawansuggest.tumblr.com

Qui-Gon wasn’t sure what tempted him to the crèche on this day, but he doesn’t regret the decision. The older initiates crèche playspace was bustling with children not in classes right now. 

Even Xanatos was visiting his future padawan at the moment, the oversized black corvid gently grooming the fur of the purring little white ferret across the room. They would make a good pair when they were official.

Qui-Gon, on the other hand, was sitting at the base of the climbing trees connected to the outdoor gardens, wondering who let one of the younger initiates into the older rooms. There was, for the most part, nothing wrong with a younger initiate wandering in from time to time, but this one seemed very… small. He was trying -the key word being  _ trying _ here- to climb up onto the second story of one of the larger climbing trees, letting out angry little growls when he just couldn’t seem to get up there.

Qui-Gon was not surprised that he couldn’t seem to get up. He was… a cheetah cub? Well, if he was a wildcat cub, he was  _ barely _ old enough for the crèche, much less old enough to be left alone. He was  _ tiny _ .

Why wasn’t anyone watching him?

Qui-Gon just barely caught the little one by the scruff of his neck as he slipped off the climbing tree with a chirp of shock, startling both of them as he ended up with a stone still cub in his jaws. He shook himself out of the daze and gently set the cub on the ground in front of him.

The cub, was not thankful in the least. In fact, the little thing looked up at him with stormy grey eyes, and growled low in his throat, one of his tiny little paws stomping on the ground in upset as he scolded the adult lion.

Oh, he had a lot of spark to him. Not many initiates would stand up to a master, and even less would scold one, but Qui-Gon was a  _ lion _ , sometimes even other masters hesitated to correct him. The little cub showed absolutely no fear.

Which is hilarious, because Qui-Gon is easily over twenty times his size. Really, the cub was fearless, but he was barely stable on his own feet, and far too little to be without supervision. Who even let him in here?

He sat back on his haunches again, watching diligently -which obviously should have been the job of this cub’s errant caregiver, but he would never be so careless as to leave him alone, like  _ someone _ obviously- as the kitten turned back around, going right back to the climbing tree.

This time, he crouched down low, eyeing up the lowest of the perches of the tree, hindquarters wriggling for a moment, and lept at it.

And completely missed it.

The little cub landed with a sad mew, looking utterly dejected. Qui-Gon shook his head sadly, getting up again, and moving over so he could lick at the tiny cub’s head. It seemed to perk him up a little from the upset. Qui-Gon stood there for a moment, just gently grooming him until the little cub looked well enough to stand up again and try another time.

Qui-Gon didn’t think it was going to work, but sometimes you need encouragement anyways, and it was hard to lecture on ‘the will of the force,’ and ‘things are how they are for a reason’ when you don’t have human vocal cords… or a bond with a possibly baby aged cub.

It was a lot easier to communicate in this form with other natural senders. He sat back to watch the cub’s next attempt to get up onto the climbing tree, and cautiously reached out in his mind towards the little life he was guarding right now.

He must have startled the kitten, because he fell right after that, his little claws slipping from where they’d dug into the thick rope wrapped pole and back to the ground. He looked at Qui-Gon with wide eyes, flopped down onto his side like he couldn’t believe a master would reach out to him like that.

Okay, no, not a baby aged cub. Babies never acted surprised when reached out to in the force. It was their main source of communication with their caregivers in the crèche, but older children were always taught that it was polite to ask before reaching for someone.

Of course, Qui-Gon is a lion. He’s very simple. He’s groomed the kitten, that’s as polite as a greeting gets for him. It seemed like the proper next step to see if the little one could talk back with him. He’s rather amused at the startle he’s caused.

The spotted cub stumbled up onto his little paws, pushing up onto his feet with a wobble that immediately made Qui-Gon nervous. As little as the cub was, he shouldn’t be that unsteady on his feet. Had the little one hurt himself in the last tumble?

He stood up as the kitten made his way closer to him, and gently reached down to pick him up in his mouth again, this time getting a mew of dissatisfaction as the little one went limp in his hold. Obviously, being manipulated like this wasn’t a part of the little one’s plans when he had snuck into the big kid room today.

Qui-Gon considered his options. He could take the little escapee out into the main crèche in an attempt to find his regular caregiver, or he could just take the little mite down to the crèche infirmary, because one of his paws seemed to be hurt… but the kitten hadn’t  _ complained _ about pain in his paw so far, so Qui-Gon could give him a checkover and see if healer intervention would be needed.

So he brought the cub over to the cuddle corner.

Of course, this was the  _ big kids _ playroom, so it wasn’t called the cuddle corner, or the nap corner, or even the soft corner, it was the ‘pillow corner’ because they were big kids, and they didn’t need embarrassing baby words like cuddle or naps.

Qui-Gon wasn’t gonna lie, he thought that children were absolutely  _ charming _ , and it was a wonder that he doesn’t volunteer in the crèche more often than he already does. 

But no matter, it was a nice big section of the room, covered in blankets and pillows and hammocks -for those who were so inclined towards them- and it was generally just a good place to sit down in.

He settled down on an oversized pillow, his back against the wall, before gently setting the cub on the soft cushion in front of him. The kitten gave him a displeased mew of admonishment, so Qui-Gon started licking at his soft little head again, grooming his fur. The cub stilled, not exactly displeased with the gentle care being shown to him. It was nice, actually.

Qui-Gon stalled his plans of checking the little one for injuries when a heavy purr started rolling out of the little body under his tongue, making him utterly pleased. It could wait a little bit. Qui-Gon was a lion, he didn’t purr. But it was always sweet to hear, the little cub under his tongue was very pleased for sure.

He used his big paw to reel the little one in, moving so he could give the cub a thorough grooming, noting the way his little paws were flexing at the nice attention- no, scratch that.  _ Three _ of his little paws were flexing.

He took a closer look at the last one, giving it a little sniff. It smelled like bacta.

Okay, so maybe his inability to climb was due to a previous injury. The paw was no doubt, already seen to by now. He gave it a cautious lick, and when the kitten did nothing more than twitch in his hold, he knew the injury was well on it’s way to being healed.

He settled down on the oversized pillow, relaxed for the moment, and by the time he was finished giving the tiny initiate a bath, he was nearly asleep under Qui-Gon’s chin, purring up a storm as he snuggled into the master.

Qui-Gon just gave a big cat sigh, holding the cub close. He was so small. 

He laid down with the little cub stuffed under his chin, making a rumbling noise in reply to those heavy little purrs, but alas, he was a lion, and couldn’t purr himself. The kitten seemed to appreciate it anyways, and purred even louder, drifting off for a nap right there. Qui-Gon closed his eyes, nuzzling into the little one as they cuddled. Little ones needed reassuring touch while growing up.

Qui-Gon blinked open his eyes in surprise when he felt a little peck on his arm, and stared at his former padawan, who was giving him an amused look as he smothered a cub to sleep, as if making fun of him, before the crow let out a clicking noise and hopped away to where his own future padawan was napping in a hammock. Qui-Gon felt made fun of.

Qui-Gon had been laying with the little one for a good ten minutes when he felt a prod on his mind, before he looked up to see a confused kangaroo in front of him.

Of course, she was a wookie outside of her animal form, one of the crèche masters in charge of the older children. Mytakkoa, but the littler children called her Master Koa.

She had even helped raise Qui-Gon. She’s been a master here a long time. He returned her mental prod and opened up his mind to her, wondering what she was concerned with. She shifted from one large foot to the other, and a little head popped up out of her pouch, a young python. She patted the little head, and the snake went back inside the pouch, unconcerned with what went on outside. She could often be found with an initiate or two hitching a ride. 

_ I had not realized you had laid claim to young Kenobi for a future padawan. _

Qui-Gon looked down at the kitten tucked up under his chin, purring in his sleep like a little sublight engine.  _ I have laid claim to no initiate. I don’t intend to take a padawan anytime soon. If initiate Kenobi and I are well matched, it will be a while yet until I decide. _

Mytakkoa shifted side to side again, this time visibly upset.  _ Master Jinn, you know better than to manipulate a child’s emotions like that, I have half a mind to ban you from the crèche for such an insult _ .

Qui-Gon bristled, confused, and unsure what offense he’d caused.  _ Master Koa? I do not understand how this could be seen as an insult, I’ve made no such promises to any children. I’ve only just met initiate Kenobi today.  _ It hit him then suddenly. Obviously, little Kenobi was not supposed to be here. What other conclusion could Mytakkoa draw than assuming Qui-Gon had signed him out of the younger initiates crèche in an attempt to form a bond with a future student…  _ I didn’t sign him out of the children’s crèche, I found him wandering about this very room. I simply decided to look after him myself than leave him alone where he could get hurt. Again, obviously, since his paw  _ is _ injured. _

Now Mytakkoa was confused as well.  _ Why would Obi-Wan have been in the children’s room to begin with? _

Qui-Gon was starting to wonder if the wookie had confused the kitten in his arms for another.  _ He’s too young to be in the older student’s area, he’s still tripping over his paws. How old even is he? Five? _

Mytakkoa looked genuinely shocked. Possibly at the insinuation that the crèche masters would misplace a five year old of all things.  _ He’s twelve. He’s old enough to be taken as a padawan, though I’ve had hell finding any masters who would consider him _ .

Qui-Gon sat there in shock for a long moment, considering that.  _ He is… much too small. A cheetah this small would be six at  _ most _ , are you sure you haven’t confused him with someone else- _

_ Qui-Gon Jinn, I know my students, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is top of his classes and old enough to be taken as a padawan of the order. He isn’t a  _ cheetah _ , he’s a  _ margay _. They only get as big as a housecat, they live in trees when they form packs in their animal forms. Native to Stewjon, a lot of their populace has his form if they’re force sensitive enough. _

Qui-Gon wasn’t stupid enough to think that ‘top of their class’ was exact material for being taken as a padawan. For all he knew, little Obi-Wan could be amazing in a healer or explorer’s position, or even a teacher. But when Mytakkoa decided a student was bound for a padawanship, it was very unlikely that she was wrong. He cocked his head to the side, gently nuzzling into the soft little tummy below his cheek.

Margay Stewjoni cats could mimic the calls of other animals, even those not present in the force sensitive spectrum. They could mimic gundark and krayt dragon mating calls. A rare ability for sure. But more than that, they were  _ small _ . They looked like cheetahs, but they were not.

So, he had made assumptions that this little one in his arms was an escaped littlun from the children’s room, probably having run away to escape from naptime. 

_ If he is top of his classes, why will no master consider him? _

The little snake head popped up out of the pouch again, this time lazily laying over the side so they could watch them all with big black eyes. Mytakkoa patted them again, but they stayed in place.

_ He is considered high maintenance. You know how hard it is to convince reluctant masters when they realize they might have to put actual work into a student who has real emotions and needs. _

It wasn’t even thinly veiled. The order had an issue when it came to masters picking students. Everyone seemed to think children were too hard to work with because they had to help them control emotions, and most other masters thought that the extent of what they should need to do with that was to tell them  _ not to have _ emotions. Those masters usually ended up in mandatory reeducation classes before they were allowed to consider taking on a student.

Qui-Gon was a maverick, but he passed every single evaluation the crèche made him take to be around the kids. Which meant he was also on the shortlist for masters available to take on a student with short notice... 

He sat up, one large paw on either side of the sleeping kitten between them, and marveled for a second over the fact that his paws were  _ bigger _ than Obi-Wan’s little body.

_ High maintenance in what way? _

The kangaroo considered him for a moment before seeming to approve of what she saw.  _ Emotional. Some anger issues, but they seem to be specified towards children that used to bully him before we found out about it. He also has visions strong enough that he gets tutoring from Knight Windu and Master Yoda depending on the severity. _

Admittedly, visions were out of his personal range of experience, but Master Yoda would always be available to those in his lineage, moreso to a student he’s already decided needs his help. He couldn’t offer much in the way of personal insight if they got bad, but he could do his best.

He looked back down at the kitten. His little belly was facing up towards him, paws curled up against his chest as he slept with the most peaceful expression Qui-Gon could imagine on a kitten.  _ I will make no promises. I have not even had a conversation with him, for all I know, we could be incompatible in the worst of ways. _

Mytakkoa seemed amused, shaking her head in dismissal of the idea entirely.  _ You’re already compatible in the most important of ways. Give him a chance, Master Jinn, you will see he is quite the possibility. _

Qui-Gon couldn’t help but think she was likely right. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so for funsies lets lay out other animal forms here, these are just the ones Ive def decided for sure:  
> Anakin - golden retriever  
> Padme - dark brown rabbit  
> Tahl - Dolphin  
> Bant - Turtle  
> Garen - Elephant (he's very embarrassed that he's the size of a fucking room okay don't make fun of him he's beautiful and very nice)  
> Fives - Bat  
> Ahsoka - Monkey  
> Plo - Wolf (when his wolfpack first meet him they literally baby talk and cuddle him forever and he's like 'wtf omfg yass plz scratch there i love them they're my puppies now' and it's adorable)  
> Palpatine - Worm (which makes him Rex's mortal enemy)  
> ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm idk that's all I got rn, they're all amazing. Especially Fives. He's the best of them all.
> 
> padawansuggest.tumblr.com


End file.
